Use the sites discussed in class to (1) assemble information about your school and (2) write one or more paragraphs for each type of information that you find.You should be able to combine these paragraphs, along with an introduction and conclusion to create a free standing, coherent, evidence-based description of your school.
Be sure that each of your paragraphs includes:
A strong topic sentence.
An explanation of why the data you chose to cite relates to the subject you are addressing, e.g. you should state why you feel that the student/teacher ratio informs your judgement about the school's ability to provide high quality teaching. These sentences should be based on the definitions of some of these measures on the InfoWorks site, but can also include your own reasoning about the subject.
Multiple pieces of specific data to support your claim. Each measure should include a comparison so tat the reader can judge whether the value is relatively high or low.
Include the students' view of the school when possible.
Note: Tables are not provided because it is possible to just copy and paste the tables from the Infoworks site directly in this page!
Melville Elementary School is located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Portsmouth is known as "The Birthplace of American Democracy." According to the Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 59.3 square miles. Melville Elementary is located on 1351 West Main Road. The school has 349 students and 38 teachers. 53.2% of the students are male and and 42.6% are female. Statewide, the percentages are 50.8% male and 48.8% female. In Melville Elementary, 46.8% of students are fourth grade and 53.2% are fifth grade as compared to 50 50 statewide. 76.9% of students are white, and Melville has a higher percentage of White, Asian, Native Hawaiian and multiracial students than the state. The state has higher percentage of American Indians, African Americans and Other. Only 11.8% of students in Melville are Hispanic or Latino as compared to 19.4% statewide.
Student Achievement
Information Reported By Schools
90% of school is proficient in 3rd grade math as compared to RI stat of 62%.
89% of school proficient in 3rd grade reading as compred to RI stat of 71%.
(2009) 90% prof as compared to 63%.
Information Reported By Students
All bigger percentage of "always" than state stats
teachers call on a lot of different people in class
teachers give me good directions for my work
help keep my workspace neat
help after i miss a day of school
explain something in different ways until i get it
give me enough time to do well on my classwork
LOWER PERCENTAGE;
works in small groups
tell me to work with partner on classwork
AYP Report Card
Number of Target Areas Evaluated: 9
Number of Targets Met:9
Areas that need improvement: English Language Arts 93.7 (lowest score) All scores higher than state.
Summary Paragraph(s)
Melville seems to be an academically prestigious elementary school. In 2011 90% of the school was proficient in 3rd grade math as compared to the state statistic of only 62% and 89% of the school was proficient in 3rd grader reading as compared to state statistic of 71%. In questions students answered about the quality of their education, many categories for Melville Elementary had higher percentages of postitive answers. Students in Melville Elementary reported that their teachers: "called on a lot of different students in class, gave me good directions for my work, help keep my workspace neat, help me after I miss a day of school, explain something in different ways until I get it, and give me enought time to do well on my classwork." All these questioned were answered with higher percentages of the reply "always" than the state. The state statistics reported higher replies of "always" on only two questions; "my teacher always works in small groups and my teacher tells me to work with a partner on my classwork." This information shows that there are many highly qualified teachers who seem to be teaching their students well. With the question "my teacher gives me work that makes me think hard," 45.7% of children answered "always." With the question "my teachers make learning fun" 39.4% of students answered "mostly" and the question "my teachers want me to learn more" 40.9% of students answered "always." These statistics are a little bit higher than the state percentages. The last questions, "my teachers care about me" and "I think my teachers like teaching" are pretty significant. 53.8% of students strongly agreed with both of these statements. The statewide percentages are actually higher than these. Teachers in Melville may not be as caring as others. Lastly, in the AYP Report Card, nine target areas were evaluated and nine were met. This is very good, Melville surpassed all the target scores. In English Language Arts, Melville scored an approximate 93.6 and the state's overall score was an 89.7 and in Math Melville scored an approximate 93.8 and Rhode Island's overall score was an 85.5. Obviously, Melville Elementary is doing very well on their tests.
(info works, report card,ride)
Teaching
Information Reported By Schools
0% teachers with emergency certification, compared to 1%
0% not highly qualified, compared to 3%
teacher to student ratio 11:1 both Melville and state
Information Reported by Students
87.2% of students in Melville think that they will graduate high school, 88.2% believe that they will go to college and 38.9% think that thesture teachers belive that they will go to college.
Summary Paragraph(s)
(Combine with above paragraph) Teachers in Melville Elementary are very qualified. There are neither teachers with emergency certification or not highly qualified teachers. The teacher to student ratio is a very impressive one, for every eleven students, there is one teacher. That establishes an environment that makes learning easy. The students also seem to be pretty confident that they will graduate high school, 87.5% and go to college, 88.2%.
Family,Community, and Home Life
Information Reported By Schools
10% eligibility for subsudized lunch, 43% statewide
1% ESL, 5% statewide
20% Special Ed, 16% statewide
Information Reported by Students
My parents want to know what im doing in school: 96.7, state:93.7%
My parents like my school: 93.3% state:88.9%
My parents want me to get good grades:100% state:99.6%
My parents talk to me about jobs I can have when I grow up: often 12.9% state:27.1%
"" going to college: 24.4% state: 37%
can talk to a good friend about problems: 80.9% state:82.2%
most: play outside 83% vs 80,
sports 58.5% vs 41.2
ride bike 55.55 vs 55
29.7% home alone for 0 days vs 43.5
one day 24.25 vs 15.8
Summary Paragraph(s)
Melville's students also seem to have a solid support system in addition to being a prestigious school. In general, there is only a 10% eligibility for subsudized lunch, as compared to the state percentage of 43% and only 1% of students needing ESL. However, Melville Elementary has a relatively large percentage of Special Ed students, 20%, as compared to the state's 16%. The students at Melville also gave information about how the community and their family impacts them. Students said that: "96.7% of my parents want to know what I'm doing in school," "93.3% of my parents like my school," and "100% of my parents want me to get good grades." Parents of children in Melville did not seem so likely to talk about the future. Only 12.9% of students said that they're parents talked to them about jobs they can have when they grow up, and only 24.4% of parents talked to their children about going to college. Both of these percentages were lower than the state percentages for these questions. 80.9% of students could talk to a good friend about problems. The children at Melville seem very active, 83% of students play outside, 58.5% play sports and 55.5% of students ride their bikes. These are the most common activities, showing that students of Melville are very active. 29.7% of students were home alone for 0 days a week, and 24.2% for one day a week. Most parents are staying with their children, which is very good since the children are very young.
Safe and Supportive Schools
Information Reported By Schools
attendance rate: 96%
chronic absenteeism: 7% vs 16%
0 incidents of suspension vs 2914 statewide total
stability index: 82% vs 87%
???
mobility index: 20% vs 13%
Measures the ability of a region’s transportation systems (all modes) to move people. Information Reported by Students
good health, majority eats breakfast every morning, most watch tv for an hour or less than one hour. 15% have asthma, 50.5% run around 3 or more hours a day. 45% work on homework on the computer for less than an hour
88% felt safe on way to school
82.8% felt safe walking outside of school
53.8% said teachers never let things get crazy in class
52.2% of students think school's rules are fair. as compared to 75% statewide
called me names 42%
done mean things to me 33%
on the bus 31.5% higher than state
81% told parents that they were bullied
62.9% stopped after told parents
high percentages say that they can talk to teachers if they have any sort of problems. (most about school work)
13% in fights
2.2% offered drugs
11.8% robbed at school compared to 23%
seen with weapon at school 11.2%
2.2% drank without permission
0% smoked a cigarette
1.1% taken an illegal drug
87.8% teachers are nice to me
42.9% kids are nice to teachers
Summary Paragraph(s)
From health to support to safety, Melville Elementary School seems to have a relatively good reputation. The attendance rate is 96%, chronic absenteeism rate is 7%, while the state's percentage is more than double, 16%. There were 0 incidents of suspension in 2008-2009. The mobility index, that "measures the ability of a region's transportation systems to move people" is 20% and the stability index, a metric used to organize, control and track changes to the originally specified requirements for a new system project or product, is 82%.
The students reported healthy behaviors: the majority eats breakfast every morning, most watch television for an hour a day or less, and 45% of students work on the computer for less than a half hour a day.
Melville Elementary also seems to have a safe community for its children. 88% of students felt safe on their way to school and 82.8% felt safe walking outside of school. 53.8% of students said that the teachers "never" let things get crazy in class, yet only 52.2% of students think that the school's rules are fair, as compared to 75% statewide. Bullies seemed more prevalent than they should be in Melville, yet all percentages were lower than the state statistics. 42% of students got called names, 33% have gotten "mean things done to them" and 31.5% of students have gotten mean things done to them on the bus. 81% of the students who were bullied told their parents that they were bullied. 62.9% of the cases of bullying stopped after they told an adult. There were high percentages of students who believed they could talk to their teachers about any problems they had (mostly about school work).
I was shocked at the amount of violence and illegal doings that went on in this school, though all percentages were lower than the state percentages. 13% were in fights, 2.2% were offered drugs, 11.8 % were robbed at school, 11.2% saw a weapon at school, 2.2% drank without permission, and 1.1% took an illegal drug. 0% smoked a cigarette. I feel like these percentages are abnormally high for 4th and 5th graders!
Lastly, 87.8% of students said that their teachers were nice to them, and 42.9% of the students believed the students in the school to be nice to the teachers.
Funding and Resources
Information Reported By Schools
$1,345,060.81 district property value per student
district tax rate per 1000$, $11.27
district per pupil expenditure: $12,850
district property tax cap: $196
district tax effort: $63
district median family income: $68577
Information Reported by Students
90% agree school looks nice inside
87.2% agree school looks nice outside
40.7% say there is always soap in the bathroom to wash hands
only 9.9% say classroom is just the right temperature
90% say there is enough books for everyone
83% desks are right size for me
79.8% use computer in class
Summary Paragraph(s)
In Portsmouth, there is a $1,345,060.81 district property value per student. The district tax rate per $1000 is $11.27, the district per pupil expenditure, is $12,850, the district property tax cap is $196, and the district tax effort is $63. The median family income for Portsmouth is $68577.
Some of the percentages reported by the students concerning funding and resources were good, yet some were upsetting. 90% of students agree that the school looks nice inside, and 87.2% agree that the school looks nice outside. Only 40.7% of students say that there is always soap in the bathroom to wash their hands with. Even more shocking, only 9.9% of students say that the classroom is always just the right temperature. 90% of students say that there is enough books for everyone, and 83% say that the desks are the right size for them. 79.8% use a computer in class.
Melville Elementary School
Lauren Schuessler:
Use the sites discussed in class to (1) assemble information about your school and (2) write one or more paragraphs for each type of information that you find.You should be able to combine these paragraphs, along with an introduction and conclusion to create a free standing, coherent, evidence-based description of your school.
Be sure that each of your paragraphs includes:
Note: Tables are not provided because it is possible to just copy and paste the tables from the Infoworks site directly in this page!
Useful Sources:
School Demographics and Geographical Location
Summary Paragraph(s)
Melville Elementary School is located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Portsmouth is known as "The Birthplace of American Democracy." According to the Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 59.3 square miles. Melville Elementary is located on 1351 West Main Road. The school has 349 students and 38 teachers. 53.2% of the students are male and and 42.6% are female. Statewide, the percentages are 50.8% male and 48.8% female. In Melville Elementary, 46.8% of students are fourth grade and 53.2% are fifth grade as compared to 50 50 statewide. 76.9% of students are white, and Melville has a higher percentage of White, Asian, Native Hawaiian and multiracial students than the state. The state has higher percentage of American Indians, African Americans and Other. Only 11.8% of students in Melville are Hispanic or Latino as compared to 19.4% statewide.Student Achievement
Information Reported By Schools
90% of school is proficient in 3rd grade math as compared to RI stat of 62%.89% of school proficient in 3rd grade reading as compred to RI stat of 71%.
(2009) 90% prof as compared to 63%.
Information Reported By Students
All bigger percentage of "always" than state statsteachers call on a lot of different people in class
teachers give me good directions for my work
help keep my workspace neat
help after i miss a day of school
explain something in different ways until i get it
give me enough time to do well on my classwork
LOWER PERCENTAGE;
works in small groups
tell me to work with partner on classwork
AYP Report Card
Summary Paragraph(s)
Melville seems to be an academically prestigious elementary school. In 2011 90% of the school was proficient in 3rd grade math as compared to the state statistic of only 62% and 89% of the school was proficient in 3rd grader reading as compared to state statistic of 71%. In questions students answered about the quality of their education, many categories for Melville Elementary had higher percentages of postitive answers. Students in Melville Elementary reported that their teachers: "called on a lot of different students in class, gave me good directions for my work, help keep my workspace neat, help me after I miss a day of school, explain something in different ways until I get it, and give me enought time to do well on my classwork." All these questioned were answered with higher percentages of the reply "always" than the state. The state statistics reported higher replies of "always" on only two questions; "my teacher always works in small groups and my teacher tells me to work with a partner on my classwork." This information shows that there are many highly qualified teachers who seem to be teaching their students well. With the question "my teacher gives me work that makes me think hard," 45.7% of children answered "always." With the question "my teachers make learning fun" 39.4% of students answered "mostly" and the question "my teachers want me to learn more" 40.9% of students answered "always." These statistics are a little bit higher than the state percentages. The last questions, "my teachers care about me" and "I think my teachers like teaching" are pretty significant. 53.8% of students strongly agreed with both of these statements. The statewide percentages are actually higher than these. Teachers in Melville may not be as caring as others. Lastly, in the AYP Report Card, nine target areas were evaluated and nine were met. This is very good, Melville surpassed all the target scores. In English Language Arts, Melville scored an approximate 93.6 and the state's overall score was an 89.7 and in Math Melville scored an approximate 93.8 and Rhode Island's overall score was an 85.5. Obviously, Melville Elementary is doing very well on their tests.
(info works, report card,ride)
Teaching
Information Reported By Schools
0% teachers with emergency certification, compared to 1%0% not highly qualified, compared to 3%
teacher to student ratio 11:1 both Melville and state
Information Reported by Students
87.2% of students in Melville think that they will graduate high school, 88.2% believe that they will go to college and 38.9% think that thesture teachers belive that they will go to college.Summary Paragraph(s)
(Combine with above paragraph) Teachers in Melville Elementary are very qualified. There are neither teachers with emergency certification or not highly qualified teachers. The teacher to student ratio is a very impressive one, for every eleven students, there is one teacher. That establishes an environment that makes learning easy. The students also seem to be pretty confident that they will graduate high school, 87.5% and go to college, 88.2%.Family,Community, and Home Life
Information Reported By Schools
10% eligibility for subsudized lunch, 43% statewide1% ESL, 5% statewide
20% Special Ed, 16% statewide
Information Reported by Students
My parents want to know what im doing in school: 96.7, state:93.7%My parents like my school: 93.3% state:88.9%
My parents want me to get good grades:100% state:99.6%
My parents talk to me about jobs I can have when I grow up: often 12.9% state:27.1%
"" going to college: 24.4% state: 37%
can talk to a good friend about problems: 80.9% state:82.2%
most: play outside 83% vs 80,
sports 58.5% vs 41.2
ride bike 55.55 vs 55
29.7% home alone for 0 days vs 43.5
one day 24.25 vs 15.8
Summary Paragraph(s)
Melville's students also seem to have a solid support system in addition to being a prestigious school. In general, there is only a 10% eligibility for subsudized lunch, as compared to the state percentage of 43% and only 1% of students needing ESL. However, Melville Elementary has a relatively large percentage of Special Ed students, 20%, as compared to the state's 16%. The students at Melville also gave information about how the community and their family impacts them. Students said that: "96.7% of my parents want to know what I'm doing in school," "93.3% of my parents like my school," and "100% of my parents want me to get good grades." Parents of children in Melville did not seem so likely to talk about the future. Only 12.9% of students said that they're parents talked to them about jobs they can have when they grow up, and only 24.4% of parents talked to their children about going to college. Both of these percentages were lower than the state percentages for these questions. 80.9% of students could talk to a good friend about problems. The children at Melville seem very active, 83% of students play outside, 58.5% play sports and 55.5% of students ride their bikes. These are the most common activities, showing that students of Melville are very active. 29.7% of students were home alone for 0 days a week, and 24.2% for one day a week. Most parents are staying with their children, which is very good since the children are very young.Safe and Supportive Schools
Information Reported By Schools
attendance rate: 96%chronic absenteeism: 7% vs 16%
0 incidents of suspension vs 2914 statewide total
stability index: 82% vs 87%
???
mobility index: 20% vs 13%
Measures the ability of a region’s transportation systems (all modes) to move people.
Information Reported by Students
good health, majority eats breakfast every morning, most watch tv for an hour or less than one hour. 15% have asthma, 50.5% run around 3 or more hours a day. 45% work on homework on the computer for less than an hour
88% felt safe on way to school
82.8% felt safe walking outside of school
53.8% said teachers never let things get crazy in class
52.2% of students think school's rules are fair. as compared to 75% statewide
called me names 42%
done mean things to me 33%
on the bus 31.5% higher than state
81% told parents that they were bullied
62.9% stopped after told parents
high percentages say that they can talk to teachers if they have any sort of problems. (most about school work)
13% in fights
2.2% offered drugs
11.8% robbed at school compared to 23%
seen with weapon at school 11.2%
2.2% drank without permission
0% smoked a cigarette
1.1% taken an illegal drug
87.8% teachers are nice to me
42.9% kids are nice to teachers
Summary Paragraph(s)
From health to support to safety, Melville Elementary School seems to have a relatively good reputation. The attendance rate is 96%, chronic absenteeism rate is 7%, while the state's percentage is more than double, 16%. There were 0 incidents of suspension in 2008-2009. The mobility index, that "measures the ability of a region's transportation systems to move people" is 20% and the stability index, a metric used to organize, control and track changes to the originally specified requirements for a new system project or product, is 82%.The students reported healthy behaviors: the majority eats breakfast every morning, most watch television for an hour a day or less, and 45% of students work on the computer for less than a half hour a day.
Melville Elementary also seems to have a safe community for its children. 88% of students felt safe on their way to school and 82.8% felt safe walking outside of school. 53.8% of students said that the teachers "never" let things get crazy in class, yet only 52.2% of students think that the school's rules are fair, as compared to 75% statewide. Bullies seemed more prevalent than they should be in Melville, yet all percentages were lower than the state statistics. 42% of students got called names, 33% have gotten "mean things done to them" and 31.5% of students have gotten mean things done to them on the bus. 81% of the students who were bullied told their parents that they were bullied. 62.9% of the cases of bullying stopped after they told an adult. There were high percentages of students who believed they could talk to their teachers about any problems they had (mostly about school work).
I was shocked at the amount of violence and illegal doings that went on in this school, though all percentages were lower than the state percentages. 13% were in fights, 2.2% were offered drugs, 11.8 % were robbed at school, 11.2% saw a weapon at school, 2.2% drank without permission, and 1.1% took an illegal drug. 0% smoked a cigarette. I feel like these percentages are abnormally high for 4th and 5th graders!
Lastly, 87.8% of students said that their teachers were nice to them, and 42.9% of the students believed the students in the school to be nice to the teachers.
Funding and Resources
Information Reported By Schools
$1,345,060.81 district property value per studentdistrict tax rate per 1000$, $11.27
district per pupil expenditure: $12,850
district property tax cap: $196
district tax effort: $63
district median family income: $68577
Information Reported by Students
90% agree school looks nice inside87.2% agree school looks nice outside
40.7% say there is always soap in the bathroom to wash hands
only 9.9% say classroom is just the right temperature
90% say there is enough books for everyone
83% desks are right size for me
79.8% use computer in class
Summary Paragraph(s)
In Portsmouth, there is a $1,345,060.81 district property value per student. The district tax rate per $1000 is $11.27, the district per pupil expenditure, is $12,850, the district property tax cap is $196, and the district tax effort is $63. The median family income for Portsmouth is $68577.Some of the percentages reported by the students concerning funding and resources were good, yet some were upsetting. 90% of students agree that the school looks nice inside, and 87.2% agree that the school looks nice outside. Only 40.7% of students say that there is always soap in the bathroom to wash their hands with. Even more shocking, only 9.9% of students say that the classroom is always just the right temperature. 90% of students say that there is enough books for everyone, and 83% say that the desks are the right size for them. 79.8% use a computer in class.